Project 1 - Preliminary Critique

[Stephski]

The research of portfolio sites for this project led me to http://www.thelondonloom.com. On their home page, everything is visible: the name, the navigation bar, the logo, a welcoming message that shows a variety of their work (the images of "Hello" change every second), and a concise description of who they are and what they do. This design inspires me for its minimalism and elegance. They prove that less truly is more.
Then I stumbled upon http://oneandother.co. This website has similar qualities to the previous one. The design is simple and beautiful. The homepage display is straightforward. All projects that this agency has worked on are listed with a beautiful picture. The navigation bar is uncomplicated and clean.

These two websites inspired me to create a minimal design for my website. I used the typefaces Ingra and Essences (found in Typekit) and used very little color.
Rough 1:

Rough 2:

[erose]

Hi Stephanie:

I like both of your designs, but your 2nd design catches my eye. I feel like it really captures the minimal design concept you are shooting for far better than your 1st design. Your home page for design #2 is so incredibly clean & crisp. It creates a sense of anticipation for the surfer to see what's next (it does for me). Then your attachment, laptop2.jpg, makes it a done deal for me. Your placement of the images, and the introduction of colors to your website are great because you maintain the crisp, clean feel of your home page.

The one and only suggestion I have for your 2nd design is this: For me anyway, the laptop3.jpg page throws me off visually just a little bit because the "contact" area's font size is much larger than the font sizes above. That's it.

Great job!

[michelek]

Hi Stephanie,
I really like both of your designs. Nice and clean. I really like the 2nd one, and the layout. Especially like the placement of the images. On your "about" page I like the contrast of having a black and white image with the color images. The other layout doesn't seem to pop enough for me visually. Especially compared to your other layout.

[EduardoG]

Hi Stephanie,
I like all of your roughs, although the rough the I consider the best is "laptop2.jpeg." That rough has great navigability and the content is centered, creating a unified feel to the design.

My suggestion is to create a "TMCC" navigation button using the TMCC logo as the symbol, once clicked it will display GRC 175 etc. since that text is required for the website.

[Instructor]

Ooooh! Nicely used minimalism, Stephanie. All of these look pretty good.

While your designs are very close. I prefer your "Rough 1"; it feels like a coffee table book with the binding at your left navigation bar. I like the placement of your navigation. I like the wide horizontal layout that gives you so much room to work with. I like the page gradient behind your terrifyingly faceless self portrait (maybe use that gradient as a background on the whole site?). Your type is well placed and spaced nicely to compliment your minimalist designs. Because of their minimalism and photographs or text will, by their nature, stand out. It works extremely well to showcase your work.

I'd recommend using a sans serif type for all of your typography, like you did in parts on your "Rough 2". Use a slightly bolder type for your navigation and headlines and a light type with a bit more line spacing in it for your bodycopy. Think captions from coffee table photography books. I also think your project buttons should all be in a row.

I like the way you're thinking on these. Great ideas!

[BreeAnn]

Hi Stephanie,

While I think they're both strong, I like the second better. The faceless drawing is creepy and elegant and fun all at the same time. I like the navigation at the top more than on the side and I'm really drawn to the about page. The images you chose make it feel like a travel site and I'm curious about where you are and what your stories from that place are. I would recommend changing the order of the images on the bottom. The one on the right has much more dark space than the more flowy left and middle images and it makes that side of the page heavier. Maybe put the right one in the middle or on the right to help balance it out.

[elizabeth_mccurdy]

hello Stephanie,

I like both designs. I like the second design better. I think it is stronger and the image in the position make it look like a real web page. I know you can play more with the design but I will work more in the Type to bring more the attention and bring the eye to all the page. I really like the image you used in the page.

[sarah.alvarado]

Hello Stephanie,
Your designs are looking great! I am really enjoying the second layout. It has a contemporary yet comfortable feel that is, in my opinion, very hard to achieve. I really don't have anything I could suggest that would make it look better since it is already looking like a complete webpage to me. Wonderful job and I can't wait to see more!

[IvorHarvey]

Out of the two designs I think I like the first design a little better. They're both great and look crisp and clean, but I like how the first has the navigation along the left side and allows the rest of the page to be dedicated to that specific link! I really like how you decided to frame each text box with the image around the border, makes it really stand out against the white background. I would just like to see a picture of yourself instead of the drawing.

-Ivor